Wednesday 8 August 2012

Who Needs Maps?- Demo


Who Needs Maps? are a hardcore band from France. They feature Bertrand Baudrion, who runs the record label Orchidescent. His label has helped put some ace hardcore/screamo records including the Hexis 7" - X, which I've reviewed no this very blog. I was pretty  excited when he sent me links to his own bands, just so I could hear their output. I'm starting in the logical place, with their first demo.

So it's time to listen, while stuffing my face with apple turnover. Yeah, I'm hardcore!

Tracklist:-

1. Romero
2. Lame De Fond
3. Tale A Breath
4. Le Nombre Exige

Who Needs Maps? bring a great hardcore/screamo variant to your ears. The production is raw and urgent, as is the music and screams, but it has a great melody to it too. The tuneful guitar riffs in Romero give it a really listenable edge.

Lame De Fond again shows their knack for writing good intros and building up the atmosphere, before peaking with some awesome noise. The vocals are just cathartic scream filled with emotion that are sit at the opposite end of the scale to the instrumentation, yet like all good screamo, manages to fir perfectly. I still maintain that Europeans do this strand of hardcore best.

Take A Breath epitomises their sound I think. The music isn't cluttered or over complicated. It's simple and very effective, with even time for some cleverly placed clean vocals in the background. It reminds of simpler times, when there wasn't such a blurring of the lines in hardcore.

Final song Le Nombre Exige has a more urgent tone to it, with some great punk-inspired drumming and crazed guitars reeling in the verse. They seem to be able to weave in those euphoric riffs that sound massive, and thanks to the emotive vocals, the whole package is pretty much complete. Having it all underpinned by a tight rhythm section also helps to keep things on the right track.

Overall, Who Needs Maps? are one of those bands that get you genuinely excited when you stumble across them. Their brand of hardcore is their own, and because they don't take on the persona of another band, they sound fresh and original.

The only place you can find Who Needs Maps? is on their own blog here  - http://www.whoneedsmapsband.blogspot.co.uk/.

On the Discography section of their blog, their is a link so you can download this demo for free, as the physical copies sold out a while ago. You've got no excuse for missing them now.  Stay tuned here soon for a review of their self-titled album as well.

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